Israel-Gaza live updates: Sirens sound in Tel Aviv as Hamas fires rocket from Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday afternoon that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in their earlier meeting that he supports and would accept the U.S.-backed bridging proposal that emerged after meetings in the region last week, and that Israel would send negotiators.

"It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same," Blinken told reporters on his ninth trip to the region since Oct. 7. "And then, the parties, with the help of the mediators -- the United States, Egypt and Qatar -- have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they'll implement the commitments that they've made under this agreement. But the next important step is for Hamas to say yes.”

Blinken acknowledged the "complex issues" would still "require hard decisions by the leaders," but said he still felt "a real sense of urgency, here, across the region, on the need to get this over the finish line and to do it as soon as possible."

But given Hamas' unwillingness to engage in the latest round of negotiations, the secretary was pressed on whether there was any real hope the militant group would sign on to the proposal.

"Tomorrow, when I see the leaders of both Egypt and Qatar, I'll get the latest from them on what they are hearing," he responded. "I can't speculate on exactly what Hamas' intentions are. We've seen public statements, but we've seen public statements before that don't fully reflect where Hamas is."

Blinken will then travel to Qatar after visiting Egypt on Tuesday, he said.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, took responsibility for an attack in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening that left one person injured and the bomber dead.

In a joint statement released Monday, Israeli Police and Shin Bet said the explosion had been a terror attack.

"It can now be confirmed that this was a terror attack involving the explosion of a powerful explosive," the Israeli police and Shin Bet said. "As a result of the explosion, a passerby was moderately injured (according to medical sources) and was transported to receive medical treatment."

American Airlines has extended their suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 29, 2025, the airline said Monday.

American Airlines said they would allow customers whose travel plans are impacted by the extension to rebook their flights without a fee or cancel and receive a refund.

"We will continue to work closely with our partner airlines to assist customers traveling between Israel and European cities with service to the U.S.," the airline said in a statement.

Journalist Ibrahim Muhareb was killed by an Israeli airstrike while on duty in the Khan Younis area on Sunday, his employer, the online newspaper BDN, said in a statement.

A video filmed by Muhareb's friend and colleague, Abdallah Alattar, showed the moment the journalist’s body -- his press vest laid on top of him -- arrived at Nasser Hospital after being found in Hamad Town early on Monday morning.

Muhareb had been covering the events in western Khan Younis with other colleagues when they were targeted, BDN said.

"His traces were lost after occupation artillery targeted a group of journalists in the place yesterday," BDN said in a statement, adding that Muhareb had been working regularly with them throughout the war while also freelancing for others.

As of Aug. 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists' preliminary investigations showed at least 113 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992. Of those killed, 108 were Palestinian, two were Israeli and three were Lebanese.

Palestinian journalists strongly protested what they say is the deliberate targeting of the media and the lack of support from international colleagues on July 31, following the killing of Al Jazeera's Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al Refee by an Israeli strike while they were working in Gaza City. Israel alleges that Al-Ghoul was a member of Hamas, an allegation that the network denied.

"Even before the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ had documented Israel’s pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without producing credible evidence to substantiate their claims," said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. "Smear campaigns endanger journalists and erode public trust in the media. Israel must end this practice and allow independent international investigations into the journalists' killings."

-ABC News' Camilla Alcini